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StephN · 02-25-2006, 01:54 PM

Don't sweat the small stuff, Rhonda. I know it is BIG when the likes of you take to the soapbox, but that is really OK.

One big question that has been in my mind since diagnosis is whether all the chemicals I was exposed to as a younger person have contributed to my cancer. I was exposed to at least 2 or 3 major radiation leaks from the Hanford Atomic Works during the 50's and up to early 1960's. ALso the mosquito spray for the swampy area in the canyon at the end of our short street. Not to mention all the poisons that went into the orchards and fields of eastern Washington where the fresh food I ate came from. Mom's tomatoes and the fruit from our trees and the neighbors were not treated, but most of it was commercially in those days.

We never ate much pre-prepared food as it was pretty awful in earlier days. The rest of my family continue to be healthy and cancer-free, including my parents. But as some doctors will tell us, there are some whose bodies are less able to deal with toxins, germs, viruses, pollens, etc. than others. Seems I was always getting every passing disease as a child.

There must have been some research on the mutations caused by various substances - at least in mouse models.
Then there is the STRESS of modern daily life and the demands on us such that we rarely get time to truly relax and give our bodies a break.

This is a complex problem and we have the RIGHT to get FRUSTRATED with the way our environment is abused. I have raspberry and blueberry bushes on the border of our property and the neighbor sprays against weeds every year. I asked him to stop doing that and he did last year after my brain mets!!! Guess I got his attention finally. . . .

02-25-2006, 01:54 PM	#5
StephN Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Misty woods of WA State Posts: 4,128	Poison VS. genetics Don't sweat the small stuff, Rhonda. I know it is BIG when the likes of you take to the soapbox, but that is really OK. One big question that has been in my mind since diagnosis is whether all the chemicals I was exposed to as a younger person have contributed to my cancer. I was exposed to at least 2 or 3 major radiation leaks from the Hanford Atomic Works during the 50's and up to early 1960's. ALso the mosquito spray for the swampy area in the canyon at the end of our short street. Not to mention all the poisons that went into the orchards and fields of eastern Washington where the fresh food I ate came from. Mom's tomatoes and the fruit from our trees and the neighbors were not treated, but most of it was commercially in those days. We never ate much pre-prepared food as it was pretty awful in earlier days. The rest of my family continue to be healthy and cancer-free, including my parents. But as some doctors will tell us, there are some whose bodies are less able to deal with toxins, germs, viruses, pollens, etc. than others. Seems I was always getting every passing disease as a child. There must have been some research on the mutations caused by various substances - at least in mouse models. Then there is the STRESS of modern daily life and the demands on us such that we rarely get time to truly relax and give our bodies a break. This is a complex problem and we have the RIGHT to get FRUSTRATED with the way our environment is abused. I have raspberry and blueberry bushes on the border of our property and the neighbor sprays against weeds every year. I asked him to stop doing that and he did last year after my brain mets!!! Guess I got his attention finally. . . .